Cornfed Comedy
An archive of stories from a comedy-lover's former blog, capturing the comedians and lives bringing a stand-up comedy culture to the Midwest.
Colin Ryan was another friend of Cornfed Comedy, and always willing to share his story. As a new husband and dad, Colin was finding the time to do his comedy in the small clubs through the Iowa City area. And as a transplant from Iowan, bringing his own unique viewpoint of life in the Midwest. Originally published: January 23, 2013 Iowa resident and stand-up comedian Colin Ryan is a busy guy. Between his stints on the open mic stage to being a devoted father and husband, he managed to answer a few questions for our Corn-fed Comedy readers about being an Iowa transplant from Ireland, fitting into the growing scene and still finding time to enjoy his life at home. If you haven't gotten a chance to see Colin, shame on you. Full of wit and that Irish charm, Colin's tell-it-like-it-is about life and fatherhood make him a clean, fun comic that is all about having a good time. Special thanks to this Iowa comic for taking the time to talk about his life and love of the stand-up stage with our blog. Corn-fed Comedy: Share a little about yourself -- where are you from originally, and how long have you been doing comedy? Do you have any comedy influences?
Colin Ryan: I moved here from Ireland in 2010, I had lived there my whole life and to be honest had no real intention of emigrating or really going anywhere, but I met my wonderful wife Lindsay in 2004, we got married in 2007. Now I’m here, which is nice. I have been doing comedy off and on since 2005, the first gig I did was an open mike in the Craic House (This has a different meaning in Ireland) with my old school buddy Enda Muldoon (who was legitimately funny from the start and is now tearing up the comedy scene in London). When I started I was a really bad musical comedian, who would take regular songs and change the lyrics to make the song rude. I am sure at the time I thought I was pretty cutting edge however it took about a year until it started to permeate into my skull how truly, stomach-churningly awful I was. I think I tried then to develop a more political act, which was a bit better, but still pretty mediocre because while I am interested in politics and can at times become passionate about stuff, my pseudo Bill Hicks rants were undermined by stuttering delivery and shaky hands that appeared more like adolescent anxiety than a call to arms. Since I moved over here I’d like to think I have developed a lot as a comic, in that I now normally enjoy myself on stage, am fairly confident in my delivery and am confident that my material reflects my actual beliefs. It is also kind of cool being an Irish act in the Mid-West, as I have a kind of circus freak attraction vibe going. People automatically seem a bit curious as to why I am there and what I could possibly want to say. Another factor is that I’m now 35, married, have a mortgage, back pains and a child, so I really don’t need the approval of audiences any more. It’s nice to get it and I enjoy it, but I do this now more for therapeutic reasons so if I crash and burn on a stage I tend to reflect with good natured curiosity rather than despondency. As far as influences go, like many comics when I started I really wanted to be Bill Hicks, but I have mellowed in my older age and realized I am actually quite apathetic about most things. Currently my favorite working comic is Stewart Lee, a British comic who I feel has reinvented what a stand up can do. As far as American comics go, I love Jamie Kilstein and Lee Camp (who I got to open for in Des Moines last week, name drop ahoy), who kind of do the Bill Hicks thing but from a more progressive outlook rather than a libertarian one. CFC: As you probably know, comedy is really starting to saturate in the Midwest, particularly with the tight scene of common faces in Iowa. What has this transition been like for you, especially since you're an Iowa transplant? CR: I love the Iowa comedy scene and I have to give a huge amount of credit to Tom Garland in Iowa City and Dan Umthum in Des Moines. The Des Moines scene is fantastic it is kind of like an artistic collective, with loads of people doing loads of cool stuff, Iowa seems to be organically growing that way. Both Dan and Tom seem to have built these thriving comedy scenes out of nothing. I have a lot of respect for both guys, who are great performers in their own right. I saw on twitter that Tom was playing a huge gig in Las Vegas last week, which made me really happy, I don’t think I know anyone who has put as much into time and energy into his career as Tom and it really shows. For me it has been really fantastic tapping into this scene, everyone has been incredibly friendly and welcoming. I have never noticed any backstabbing or bitchiness, everyone just seems to get on with it. I’ve made a lot of really good friends all over the state through doing this, for example last Friday I did a benefit show with James Draper and a load of other comics from the Quad Cities and Des Moines, it was a great night and it was a load of fun hanging out with those guys, those kind of nights have really helped me transition to life in a new culture. CFC: How has life on the road treated you? You're a husband and devoted dad now, so what has that transition been like? CR: I don’t really feel I have ever been “on the road” so to speak as I generally only have done a couple of gigs at a time. I have never really pursued this as a career, I love doing comedy but the idea of monetizing my act has never been a huge motivator for me, if I started getting paid for it, it would become work and thus lose its therapeutic benefit. Having a kid has changed things though as I really have to prioritize my time. Currently I’m in the process of finishing grad school, doing an internship while still working a job and trying to figure out how a baby works, so things are a little crazy at the moment and comedy has become a casualty. I really miss doing the open mics, because I have not had the chance to do much new material and I really hate having to regurgitate the old stuff when I am booked for something. Once I recorded my CD “Atheist by the Grace of God”, (recorded by Underground Comedy and available on bandcamp.com, in case you were wondering), I promised myself I would draw a line under my old material and come what may develop a completely new set. Unfortunately that has not been really possible ilatley. That said I have started writing a lot lately and am hoping to start getting some new stuff together after I graduate in May, with a goal to develop a new half hour of decent material within the year. CFC: What's your stand-up life like? Are there any "home clubs" in that you're growing a following with? CR: Like I mentioned, it is kind of on hold at the moment, but I love doing comedy, there are really very few art forms where you can either succeed or completely fall flat on your face in such a public way. As such, I am always excited to get on stage. I think the Monday night show at the Yacht Club in Iowa City is phenomenal, the audiences there have been fantastic and I am really itching to get back there and do a set. I also love doing the Circa 21 in Rock Island Illinois, George Strader puts on an amazing show there with the Blacklist Improv troupe, I always love going to Des Moines to do the House of Bricks as well. But definitely the shows I have enjoyed the most since I got here have been Bobby Ray Bunch’s Showcase’s at the Mill. Bobby is awesome at putting on a show and on Saturday it will be my third time headlining there and both times I have played there before have been magic. CFC: What advice do you have for other comics - especially those in Iowa? CR: Well firstly I am not sure who would actually seek my advice unless their question was “How do I spend seven years doing comedy and still be an open mike act with limited commercial viability?” I do have my thoughts on what I feel makes good comedy, although I should acknowledge the subjectivity of said thoughts and thus their lack of real value. Firstly, I always enjoy seeing an act where the individual has a level of awareness about their self and how they present to the audience. I love when a performer has taken the time to develop their own voice and has written material that is congruent with their stage persona. Every time I see Bruce Jay, Jake Vevra, Andrew Cline, Bobby Ray or Andrew King, I always feel I am looking at a well cultivated three dimensional stage persona. This always makes their acts very satisfying to watch. It is fine having technically good material but if the audience does not emotionally connect with the comic then it can be a bit grating to sit through the set. Secondly (and this is a personal taste thing) I am not hugely into comedy that is mean spirited and directed at people in society that are in a less privileged position then the comic themselves. It is kind of forgivable in the open mic community, but when I see a professional comic mocking people with learning disabilities, the homeless etc., I just tune out, the whole idea of a millionaire making more money by picking on the weak in society always makes me a little queasy. Finally, I always like my comedy to be about stuff. The comedy that I have always enjoyed, people like Richard Pryor, George Carlin Bill Hicks and Stewart Lee, always appealed because the act seemed like a delivery system to make a broader philosophical point. George Carlin’s set always seemed incredibly important because he clearly had something immensely profound he wanted to impart and comedy was a vehicle for this. His best stuff like the re-definitions of PTSD, the Great Electron, or his stuff on the American Dream, always made you feel a little uneasy because it was very close to a universal truth that we were all of aware of but had partially disassociated from. To my mind great comedy going back even to Jonathon Swift’s A Modest Proposal is always at its best when it is being used to point out the gaping chasms of logic in our collective consciousness and the in-congruence between our higher ideals and the reality of our imperfect world.
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